Generally speaking, this invention relates to serving trays for prepared meals having hot and cold foods in separate dishes. More specifically, this invention pertains to an improved serving tray for holding both hot and cold dishes of food and having channels for the passage of heating and cooling air streams over exterior portions of the dishes. Such trays are used in rethermalizing carts or cabinets having means for circulating the air streams through a vertical stack of trays.
Feeding systems utilizing rethermalizing cabinets and serving trays are well known and used particularly in health care institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes and the like. In such systems, food is prepared in a central commissary for distribution at a later time. Preferably all of the constituents of a meal, including the entree, side dishes, dessert, beverage, eating utensils, condiments, napkins, etc., are placed in a serving tray before the tray is inserted into a cabinet where the food is refrigerated until shortly before serving time. Prior to serving time, the portion of the tray containing the dishes of food to be served hot is subjected to heat while refrigeration is continued for the portion containing the dishes to be served cold. Under these conditions it becomes apparent that the tray should be designed so as to provide a thermal barrier between the hot and cold portions of the tray. It is also important to provide a foolproof means for preventing the inadvertent insertion of a tray into the cabinet backwards. Backwards insertion of a tray would result in the cold foods becoming heated and the hot foods remaining refrigerated.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved serving tray which is of a simple and compact design and has a multifunction thermal divider and a multifunctional means for preventing reverse orientation of the tray in a rethermalizing cabinet.